"A Really Good Guy": Fox Hypes Former Employee's Candidacy

May 18, 2013 2:09 PM EDT ›››
REMINGTON SHEPARD

Fox News hyped the candidacy of its former contributor Pete Snyder, calling him "a really good guy."

On May 17, the Virginia Republican Convention began. Over the course of the weekend, Virginia Republicans -- as described by a May 17 Washington Post article -- are gathering "to pick nominees for lieutenant governor and attorney general, and rally behind Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II for governor."

One of the candidates for lieutenant governor is Snyder, a former Fox News contributor, whose campaign website -- as of May 18 -- features that fact in a front page box. The box links to a page that details Snyder's experience at Fox and includes a laudatory quotation from Fox News chairman Roger Ailes:

CARLSON: I want to say good morning to our old friend Pete Snyder. You may remember, Pete was a Fox News contributor for quite a while. And I just wanted to note, today in the Commonwealth of Virginia is the Republican Party's meeting where the nominee for lieutenant governor will be chosen. Pete is in the running. It looks pretty good for him. It's just neat when people you know and like sort of ascend up the ladder politically. This man could be the lieutenant governor of Virginia and when he is, I'm calling him for dinner.

[...]

CARLSON: A good guy. Pete Snyder is a really good guy.

CAMEROTA: That's great

CARLSON: It's just nice to see that.

CAMEROTA: Nice shout out.

Snyder is not the first former Fox contributor to receive on air campaign aid. Indeed, former Fox contributor John Kasich, the Republican governor of Ohio, received on air support from Fox host Sean Hannity after he announced his intention to run for governor.

Additionally, Snyder is not the first former Fox contributor to highlight their involvement with the network on the campaign trail. In 2010, after leaving Fox News as a contributor when her contract expired, Angela McGlowan regularly touted her former Fox employment while pursuing a Republican primary bid in a Mississippi congressional race. McGlowan, who lost the bid, is once again a Fox News contributor.

Former Fox contributors Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum also attempted to jump back into elected office from Fox, both engaging in failed bids for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Gingrich and Santorum expressed dissatisfaction with the Fox News coverage they received.